Garden & Gun digital editor shares tips for beginning writers
“Establishing initial relationships helped me land several writing jobs.”
- Elizabeth Florio
It is no secret that a career in writing is seldom in the form of a linear path. The desire to write may be a stationary mountain but writers become inquisitive travelers who stumble upon rigorous glaciers, lakes, trails and alpine vegetation. I believe the modern-day writer is adaptable and curious about the environment presented before them. So is the case for Elizabeth Florio, digital editor for Garden & Gun. On April 11, 2023, I conducted an over-the-phone interview with Florio to obtain tips for beginning writers like myself and to capture the essence of writing for a national magazine.
Early interest in writing
As a child, Florio’s love for reading led her to frequently indulge in the creative process by writing her own stories. In high school, she became a member of her school newspaper but her interest in becoming a journalist was still rather faint. When tasked with choosing a major before college, her love for writing directed her toward English and International Studies at Northwestern University in Chicago. During her undergrad, she occasionally contributed to the school’s daily paper and was able to obtain artifacts that showed her writing and editorial skills.
Back to her roots
After graduation Florio moved back home to Atlanta. She started working for small local media publications by grabbing coffee with personnel from those outlets. “I was able to get internships and experience by directly talking to kind people who were willing to take me in,” Florio said. “Establishing initial relationships is what helped me land several writing jobs.” She mentioned that contacting those who were already doing what she wanted to do was typically well received. “Most people are flattered when you say you want to learn from them. From my knowledge, Atlanta is a tight knit community for writers, it’s not like New York, people in the journalism industry here are willing to guide those who are seeking mentorships.”
Networking
Florio worked hard to form those initial connections; it was a constant effort of advocating for herself and reaching out to people. It was not until she spoke with her peers who majored in journalism that she realized they had made those connections before entering the job market. “Their program required them to get an internship before graduating, resulting in having those relationships, experience and contacts beforehand,” Florio said. Her English degree showed her the mechanics of good writing, but specific reporting skills was something she had to obtain while on the job. Despite not having those initial reporting credentials, Florio’s awareness of her weaknesses and is what lead her to succeed.
Directly learning from those before her enabled her to work her way up from copyeditor to digital director at Atlanta– the city’s premier general interest magazine where she worked for nine years.
Freelancing
Becoming a mother of two young children, Florio wanted flexibility in her schedule. That is when she made the decision of leaving Atlanta magazine and set her eyes on freelancing. As a freelancer, the typical model for getting paid looks like: a writer is paid per article, flat fee, meaning an amount is discussed for a single task and it typically doesn’t waver according to the amount of work or hours one puts in. Although a freelancer is hired for one article, Florio adds, in some cases these opportunities lead to getting your feet in the door with established magazines.
[Freelance Editing] The nature of editing secured Florio with a contract every month. Typically the larger the projects she would have to edit, the longer the contract would be, such as six months (paid per month). The type of editing involved depended on the medium of the publication.
[Print] She produced magazine materials such a travel guides and visitor’s guides for magazines that needed them. It involved working with the publication team and discussing what was needed, tapping into her network of writers, and working with a designer for the layout and captions. Line editing, a more in-depth version of copy-editing, required Florio to check for grammar, flow and package it up in a google document for a designer to turn it into a tangible magazine.
[Website] Editing for a website was not as complex. Those she worked with would have a story idea, they would send a document, and her editing would be online– instantly.
Being a tinker
Those around Florio describe her as a tinker, someone who spends time with each project she is given. No matter what title she wears, writer, editor, digital director, it is in Florio’s nature to double-check her accuracy and extensively edit her own work. She mentioned working slow isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it means you care about the work you are producing. That kind of attentiveness and ability to slow down can help you in the long run. “I found editors are inclined to work with writers who can send in a fairly clean document because it removes any heavy lifting for them,” Florio said. “It demonstrates your meticulous work ethic and commitment to getting the facts right in journalistic writing.”
Garden & Gun
Curating, Writing, Editing Digital Content
Florio’s most recent endeavor is Garden & Gun, a distinguished magazine covering the American South, with the main pillars being: home & garden, arts, food + drink, travel, music, literature and the sporting culture. Although freelancing gave her the flexibility she needed, being a full time employee at G&G has given her the option to work remotely from Atlanta despite being headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina.
G&G is not a breaking news publication, but it does respond to news relevant to the south. Florio mentioned the array of topics it covers allows it to cater to both female and male audiences. As a digital editor, her main job entails overseeing editorial content for the website, starting with a story on a topic and finding a writer to work on the article then editing it. Additionally, Florio contributes to the magazine as a writer, often collaborating with photographers to provide comprehensive meanings to her articles.
500 word report turns 2,000 word feature
LAND & CONSERVATION
The main difference between print and digital publications is the latter contains more in-depth angles to stories due to the absence of space constraints.
One day Florio’s editor in chief came to her after seeing a tweet from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation team about a whale that had been caught in a fishing rope. Her curiosity and previous interest in whale-watching made her the perfect writer for the story. The initial task was to cover the entanglement. After conducting preliminary research and speaking with multiple sources, Florio realized the story went beyond. Her in-depth feature covers the dangerous task of freeing a forty-foot right whale, the remarkable work of marine & wildlife biologists, rescue teams + lead responders, and concludes with the need for policy change with new fishing technology.
She mentioned sometimes it is best to stick to the initial assignment, or run it by an editor to see if the piece can be extended. In her case however, as digital editor, she had the ability to turn her report into a full-blown feature for G&G’s website.
Takeaways
In Florio’s opinion, the most important skill to possess whether you are writing for a digital or print forum is good writing. It constitutes the largest sector of creating an interesting story alongside original research and a specific angle. A pretty story for her is grammatically correct, reduces communication noise and creates flow by not distracting readers.
Paying attention to details shows you care about the work you are creating and how it looks to readers. In a fast-paced world, it is easy to develop habits that suck the life out of good writing. It lends to mediocre work full of errors and inconsistencies. Elizabeth Florio’s rigorous character allowed her to thrive in the journalism industry, her education gave her the skills needed when editing and her consistent desire to learn new skills sculpted her into a well-versed individual in the content production sector.
